By Richard Magat

Nov. 4, 2015:  In Europe, grim scenes attest to the flow of refugees from conflicts in Syria and elsewhere. In the United States, controversy about immigration policy swirls through political corridors and the media. On the other hand, the country's heterogeneous character has often been celebrated; Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty are symbols of its heterogeneity, and parades feature various ethnic groups.

A small but graphic example was on view recently at the annual meeting of the American Stamp Dealers Association. The event drew hundreds of postal aficionados to the sprawling Hilton Hotel in New York. Among the thousands of items on display was the 32-cent Immigrants Arrive stamp. It shows a shabbily clothed family of five, including an infant in a bonnet and the father with a heavy load on his back.

The painting for the stamp was the work of Richard Waldrep, an artist who lives in Sparks, Maryland. It was part of a series known as the Celebrate the Century Collection and was included in the collection celebrating the first decade of the 20th century, 1900-1910. Waldrep also worked with the U.S. Postal Service to create designs such as the 1992 Summer Olympics collection, the 1993 Country and Western Series, and the 1996 Centennial Olympic Games Classic Collection.

Coinciding with the ASDA gathering was the arrival in my mailbox of the quarterly USA Philatelic, a handsome catalogue of the latest issues of the United States Postal Service. The cover of this number is titled A Charlie Brown Christmas and shows the beloved character decorating a tiny tree against the background of a snow-covered hut.    

Inside, eight new Charlie Brown stamps are listed. Also featured are a new snowflake series, tree ornament Forever stamps, and stamps featuring religious holidays (Christmas, Hanukah, Eid, and Kwanzaa). One series honors entertainers, from Ray Charles to Johnny Cash to Janis Joplin. Other series celebrate actors, authors, birds, historic events, and sports.

The catalogue is free and may be obtained by calling 1-800-782-6724, contacting Stamp Service, United States Postal Service, Washington, DC 20260-3501, or going to www.USStamps.org (click "Join").

The beauty and variety displayed in the catalogue is proof further that the postal system is alive and well, the Internet notwithstanding. And now and then a bombshell erupts in the system--such as the $9.5 million paid at auction for the one-cent Magenta stamp from British Guiana, the only one in the world still existing.